Action At Charles City Courthouse-January 8, 1781

On January 8, 2025January 6, 2025 By Mark WilcoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

By the evening of January 6, 1781, much of the small town of Richmond, newly appointed capital of Virginia, was in flames. Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold and his force of British regulars and loyalist provincial troops, to the tune of around 800, were east of the city, heading toward Westover Plantation, in Charles City County. It was the home of Mary Willing Byrd, widow of the late William Byrd III. She was also a cousin to Arnold’s wife, Peggy Shippen Arnold. The British transports had landed at Westover back on January 4 and it was there that Arnold finished planning his march on Richmond, 25 miles away.

Westover Plantation

With the arrival of Arnold’s forces at Portsmouth, on the Virginia coast, Gov. Thomas Jefferson believed the target of the raid was Williamsburg. Baron Friedrich von Steuben, the Continental Army’s military commander in the area, believed Petersburg was at risk. Both men were surprised when Arnold landed at Westover, showing his target clearly to be Richmond. Caught off guard, Jefferson nevertheless swung into action, calling out local militia companies. Von Steuben, likewise, sent Continental forces he had on hand to the north side of the James River, to relieve the capital. With a price on his head, the traitor Benedict Arnold couldn’t afford to linger too long in the area. Were he to be captured, he knew it would mean the gallows for him. After spending a mere 24 hours in the city, destroying Westham Foundry, located six miles above Richmond, burning public buildings & filling 42 small craft with tobacco, rum, and any other commodity worth cash money he could find, he gave the order to return to Westover and his troop transports.

Arriving there on January 7, the bulk of Arnold’s troops immediately bivouacked & began cooking rations. With Jefferson’s call, though, Patriot militiamen from the lower counties had been gathering throughout the area of Charles City. Many were seen on the high ground in back of Westover Plantation. Arnold became desperate for intelligence. Among his provincial forces were the Queen’s Rangers, Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe, commanding. Made up mostly of loyalists from New York, the Queen’s Rangers were comprised of well trained and equipped light infantry and cavalry troops. Back on January 5th, it had been Simcoe who had led the troops who destroyed Westham Foundry. Born in England, Simcoe had served throughout the war, beginning with the siege of Boston back in 1775. He was a very competent officer who would go on after the war to serve as the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada & to be elected a member of Parliament. He kept a journal throughout the war which he first published in 1787. In this journal Simcoe described the action in Charles City, after the raid on Richmond.

Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe

Gen. Arnold ordered him to lead a patrol, he said, “to be made on the night of the eighth of January towards Long Bridge (on the Chickahominy River) in order to procure intelligence.” Simcoe detached 40 of his cavalrymen for the patrol. For the most part, he said, his men were “badly mounted, on such horses as had been picked up in the country.” The patrol had not proceeded beyond 2 miles on the main road, presumably the River Road (Modern Virginia State Route 5) before Simcoe’s vidette, a Sergeant Kelly, was challenged by two Patriot militiamen. Kelly kept up a friendly demeanor until he came close, then he rushed the Patriot scouts. He captured one while the other fled. Along with one prisoner, Simcoe said he also freed “a Negro who had been taken on his way to the British army.” From the rebel prisoner he learned that Patriot general Thomas Nelson, Jr had a large party of militiamen encamped at Charles City Courthouse, about 6 miles to the east. The corps of militiamen that had been seen at Westover were an advance party, the captured Patriot had said, and numbered around 400.

Upon learning this, Simcoe says he immediately ordered his troopers to the “right about”, off the road. A Lt. Holland, “who was similar in size to the vidette who had been taken” led the Ranger’s advance. The African American man Simcoe liberated offered to guide his force to the courthouse by an obscure pathway, off the main road. Simcoe’s intention was to attack or, in his words, “beat up” the main body of militia at the courthouse, believing their guard would be lowered owing to the presence of the large advance party on the main road. If repulsed, he planned to retreat along the same path. If successful against the main body, though, he knew he had the option of attacking that advance party of 400 men.

Charles City Courthouse, built ca 1730

As they moved to the east that evening, Simcoe wrote that the patrol “passed through a wood”, where it halted “to collect”. They had scarcely resumed their march on this back road when the column was immediately challenged by a Patriot picket or vidette. Answering the challenge, Lt. Holland, riding in the van, immediately called out… “A friend”; he then gave the countersign for the challenge which the Patriot prisoner had told them. “It is I, me, Charles.”, which apparently was the name of the Patriot militiamen whom Lt. Holland was impersonating. Holland continued leading the column, past the first picket. Riding beside him was the irrepressible Sergeant Kelly, who immediately grabbed the militiaman. Holland himself lunged for a second militiaman who was sitting his horse nearby, but Simcoe said, grabbing hold of him the man was too strong and got free. That second man whirled and, “presented, and snapped his carbine.” For Lt. Holland it was a lucky misfire. The militiaman then galloped off a distance, re-primed his piece & fired off a warning shot.

Simcoe’s patrol had been spotted; the element of surprise was now lost. He gave the immediate order to advance as rapidly as possible and very quickly his force reached the grounds of the courthouse where several companies of Patriot militiamen were encamped. To these men, this had always been a place of safety; where men of Charles City County came to join the militia and, many years later, this is where many old veterans would file their depositions in hopes of obtaining a pension for their service. Now, they were under attack. According to militiaman William Seth Stubblefield, his company was “taken on surprise” about midnight. Simcoe said his men rushed on and immediately a confused and scattered fire began, on all sides. His troopers, attacking from out of the darkness, were nonetheless heavily outnumbered. Thinking quickly, however, Simcoe used his cunning.

Queen’s Rangers

He immediately sent his two “bugle horns”, buglers, men he called French and Barney, over towards his right. They had orders to “answer his challenging, and sound when he ordered.” The night air was quickly becoming filled with lead as both sides exchanged fire. As a ruse, Simcoe called out in a loud voice for the “Light Infantry to form”; then he gave the order to “sound the advance”. The buglers on the right responded, and sounded their horns. In a matter of seconds, the Patriot militiamen, caught off guard and now apparently fooled into thinking they were outnumbered and being flanked, immediately started falling back. As John Graves Simcoe described it, “the enemy fled on all sides, scarcely firing another shot.” And just like that, the skirmish was over. But the night was dark, and the Queen’s Rangers were unfamiliar with the country. Some of the Patriots were captured while others were wounded. Simcoe said a few of the fleeing militiamen drowned in a nearby mill dam. In his 1833 pension application, militiaman Irby Phillips likewise referenced men “drowning in a mill pond”. Simcoe said that he himself stepped in to save three armed Patriots from “the fury of the soldiers (Rangers)”. He said the militiamen were frightened and presented their loaded pieces, directly at his breast. In their agitated state, they easily could have pulled the triggers, but, luckily for Simcoe, they didn’t.

From these three prisoners he learned that he had earlier been deceived; that he had fallen for a ruse himself. The story he had been told of the 400-man Patriot advance party near the main road was false; there was no advance party. What Simcoe had been calling the main party consisted of between 150 and 200 militiamen, all encamped with cookfires going. General Nelson was not among them but, apparently, was in camp some miles away, back towards Williamsburg with a force of around 700 or 800. Many of the fleeing militiamen headed in that direction.

Simcoe ordered his troopers to mount immediately. Many of them wanted to search the buildings and homes near the courthouse, where several of the militiamen had fled, but were not permitted. Simcoe wrote that his troopers were “plainly distinguished by the fires which the enemy had left.” Silhouetted in this way, the commander believed his small numbers could have easily been discerned, possibly inviting a dangerous counter attack.

In this brief action, the Queen’s Rangers lost one man, a Sergeant Adams, who was mortally wounded. Simcoe described the sergeant’s last moments: “This gallant soldier, sensible of his situation, said: ‘My beloved Colonel, I do not mind dying, but for God’s sake, do not leave me in the hands of the rebels.” French, one of the buglers, and two other troopers were wounded in the engagement and about a dozen of his horses had been captured. The Patriots, in Simcoe’s estimation, suffered around 20 or so casualties, including several captured.

The Rangers left Charles City Courthouse and headed west, back towards Westover, with their prisoners. Simcoe said the enemy made no threat against his rear. The patrol arrived at Westover the next morning, January 9. There, Sergeant Adams died and was buried with honors. On January 10, Benedict Arnold’s transports shoved off into the James River and began their trip back towards Portsmouth.

By 1781, Virginia was a major supply depot and logistical hub for the Southern American army operating in the Carolinas. While Arnold’s strategic strike against Richmond was brief, it was yet overwhelmingly successful. Ironically though, the final chapter of this event wasn’t written in Richmond at all but, rather, in Charles City. The old county courthouse, which still stands today along historic and scenic Virginia State Route 5, was a witness to it all.

Rev War Revelry: George Washington’s Momentous Year

On December 20, 2024 By Mark MaloyIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Join us on Sunday evening as we welcome historian and author Gary Ecelbarger to discuss his new two volume study of George Washington between July 4, 1777 and July 4, 1778. During this momentous year, Washington faced the British army at major engagements at Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. He also spent the winter at Valley Forge. Ecelbarger breaks down this year into two volumes. The first volume, which covers the July to December of 1777 is available now.

This will be pre-recorded and posted to the Emerging Revolutionary War Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/emergingrevwar at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 22.

First Shots? The Raid on Fort William and Mary, December 14-15, 1774

On December 12, 2024December 11, 2024 By Rob OrrisonIn 1774, Battlefields & Historic Places, Continental Congress, First Continental Congress, Lexington and Concord, Militia (Patriot) Leadership, Minute Men, Northern Theater, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Everyone has heard of the “shot heard round the world” at the North Bridge, or the first shots of the war on the early morning of April 19, 1775 at the Lexington Green. But few people know about events that transpired in New Hampshire four months before Lexington and Concord. The events at Fort William and Mary on December 13 and 14 1774 were just as critical to the step toward war as the September Powder Alarm or the later Salem Alarm in February 1775.

*Fort William and Mary, ca. 1705 by Wolfgang William Romer*

In response to the Massachusetts Powder Alarm in September 1774, colonial Whig leaders in nearby colonies began to make plans to “capture” local and colonial powder supplies. The crux was the issue of who really owned the gunpowder. Whig leaders believe they owned the power, the colonial militias. Royal leaders, Gen. Gage specifically, believe the powder was the “King’s Powder.” So any attempt to take the powder, was theft and treason. On December 3, 1774 the Rhode Island Assembly ordered the removal of cannons and powder from Fort George in Newport. On December 9, local militia carried out the order without any incident. Gage began to look at larger powder supplies that he believe were vulnerable. One large such supply was located at Fort William and Mary, located near Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This fort was isolated on the island of New Castle, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River. Located here was a small garrison of six men, guarding the fort and its supply of gunpowder.

Paul Revere and his other Patriot leaders in Boston became expert spies and soon received word that Gage was to send a contingent of British marines to Fort William and Mary. On December 13, Revere set out from Boston to Portsmouth to warn them of the coming expedition. Though the British navy was active in the area off of Portsmouth, Gage ironically made no plans to send an expedition to the fort. That would matter little in what happened next.

*Surrender of Fort William and Mary by Howard Pyle*

As Revere arrived in Portsmouth that afternoon, he gave the news of the supposed British expedition to the local Committee of Correspondence. Soon the local militia organized and, on the next day, nearly 400 militiamen assaulted the fort. The six-man British contingent inside the fort refused to surrender. They even fired three of their cannon at the attacking militiamen. For the first time, colonists were in open combat against British troops. The contingent eventually surrendered, having suffered a few injuries but no fatalities. That afternoon, the militia hauled away nearly 100 barrels of gunpowder. The next day nearly a thousand militiamen led by John Sullivan, arrived in Portsmouth due to the rider notification system. With no British to fight, these men assisted in going back to the fort to carry away muskets and cannon. Gage got word of Revere’s presence in Portsmouth and soon sent a small force from Boston to Portsmouth via the British navy. This force arrived the next week and at that point, there was nothing left of substance in Fort William and Mary.

The events at Portsmouth led Gage to be more aggressive in establishing a more coordinated spy network. As the new year began, Gage’s communications with England forced British officials to realize that this opposition was not like those in years past. The Patriots were arming themselves and establishing their own government in an affront to British authority. Former Prime Minister William Pitt, now sitting as a member of the House of Lords, knew the colonies well. He was well liked by the colonists, and he sought a compromise. He predicted the colonials would not back down and soon war would erupt between Great Britain and its colonies. Pitt proposed to remove British troops from Boston to lessen the tensions and to repeal the Coercive Acts. Both ideas were rejected overwhelmingly by Parliament.

In response to the news that the Continental Congress convened, Parliament on February 9, 1775, declared: “We find, that a part of your Majesty’s subjects in the province of the Massachusetts Bay have proceeded so far to resist the authority of the supreme legislature, that a rebellion at this time actually exists within the said province.” Now there was no doubt how the “Patriots” were viewed by Parliament and the King; they were rebels.

The events at Fort William and Mary were part of a succession of tense encounters between British authorities and local Whig leaders. Each one built on the tension from the previous. It is amazing that the “attack” by the New Hampshire militia on the fort, attacking the King’s troops, did not lead directly to war then. It would take four more months before another armed conflict sparked a revolutionary war.

To learn more about the Fort William and Mary 250th, visit: https://fortwilliamandmary250.org/

To read more about the events leading up to Lexington and Concord, visit the Savas Beatie website to purchase “A Single Blow: The Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Beginning of the American Revolution” by Phillip S. Greenwalt and Rob Orrison

https://www.savasbeatie.com/a-single-blow-the-battles-of-lexington-and-concord-and-the-beginning-of-the-american-revolution-april-19-1775/

On This Date: An America 250th Anniversary

On November 30, 2024November 29, 2024 By Daniel WelchIn Uncategorized1 Comment

The 27-year-old from Thetford, Norfolk, England native had a long journey before he even sailed across the Atlantic Ocean for the colonies. Although receiving an education until age 13, and an apprenticeship with his father until age 19, both uncommon among his peers, Thomas Paine started his professional career as a privateer. It did not suit him for long, he returned to Britain in 1759. Paine then became a staymaker, and within several years, opened his own store in Sandwich, Kent. By the end of the same year, Paine had married.

Life seemed to be set for the young couple, but tragedy after tragedy ultimately led Paine to the American colonies. Paine’s shop ran into financial challenges not long after his nuptials, and although offset by the joy of pregnancy, a relocation to a new town may have been too much on Mary. She went into early labor, and both mother and child tragically died during the delivery. A series of moves, career changes, and troubles dotted the next dozen years.

A supernumerary, Excise Officer, staymaker, schoolteacher, were all ahead of time. Charges of fraud and dismissal were as well. By the age of 31, in 1768, Paine’s next professional endeavor took him to Lewes in Sussex. Over the ensuing years in Lewes, a town with a long history of opposition to the monarchy and republican sentiments, Paine became a member of the Court Leet and parish vestry, worked as a tobacconist and grocer, and married for the second the time.

By 1772, Paine wrote his first political piece. His time in his home country was now on the clock. By the spring of 1774, following his political priorities and ideologies, Paine had all but abandoned his post as an excise officer and was essentially fired. He next separated from his second wife, Elizabeth, and moved to London. It was while in London that Paine met Benjamin Franklin who suggested he emigrate to Philadelphia. Paine did exactly that.

His journey through life was turbulent, even more so during the first half of the 1770s, just like his voyage across the Atlantic on his to Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania colony. The water supplies aboard the ship were dreadful, and typhoid raged across the decks of the vessel. Paine was barely alive by the time the ship reached Philadelphia. He was so ill he was unable to leave the docked boat under his own power, Benjamin Franklin sending his personal physician to the ship and have him carried off. Yet, on this date, November 30, 250 years ago, Thomas Paine had arrived to the American colonies. After six weeks of recovery his new journey, a journey shared by all those that were to be swept up in the American Revolution, began.

Less than two years after landing in Philadelphia, Paine published his work Common Sense. Coupled with a series of works entitled The Crises, Paine, “ignited a nation to help the failing cause of the Revolution.”

George Washington and Thanksgiving

On November 28, 2024 By Rob OrrisonIn Uncategorized1 Comment

George Washington issued the first Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation on October 3, 1789, designating Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. This was the first national Thanksgiving proclamation under the new Constitution, and it reflected Washington’s deep belief in the importance of gratitude to God for the blessings enjoyed by the new nation.

Here is the full text of his proclamation:

George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation (1789)

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

—George Washington

This proclamation set a tone of humility, gratitude, and recognition of divine providence that continues to influence the American tradition of Thanksgiving. We with Emerging Revolutionary War hope everyone have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving.

Rev War Revelry OG This Sunday, November 10th

On November 7, 2024November 4, 2024 By Rob OrrisonIn Uncategorized1 Comment

For nearly five years we have been bringing you our Rev War Revelry podcasts every other week. In the beginning, these podcasts were just our ERW team chatting about topics in early American history. We thought it be good to get the band back together again and catch up on all our projects, debate history and make fun of Mark Maloy’s love of the movie Patriot. Grab a drink and join in the discussion via the chat.

Civil War Nurse Saves Mount Vernon & Valley Forge

On November 1, 2024 By Daniel WelchIn 1777, Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Emerging Civil War, Memory, Monuments, National Park Service, Preservation, Revolutionary War, Uncategorized, Valley ForgeLeave a comment

Valley Forge consists of acres of undulating countryside where General George Washington and some 11,000 Continental Army troops spent the winter of 1777-1778. Today, it is one of the nation’s most hallowed shrines. Few, if any, modern visitors recognize the woman who fought to save it, nor her heroic work as a nurse during the American Civil War.

Anna Morris Ellis was born in Muncy, Pennsylvania, on April 9, 1824. On September 26, 1848, she married William Hayman Holstein. At 38 years old, Anna became involved in the Union army’s war effort during the American Civil War after the battle of Antietam in September 1862. Her husband returning home after serving a 90-day enlistment, told of wounded men lying in barns and fields around Sharpsburg, Maryland because there weren’t enough medical corpsmen. Despite an overhaul to the Union Army of the Potomac’s Medical Department by Dr. Jonathan Letterman earlier that summer, the combined evacuation of the Virginia Peninsula from their failed late spring and summer campaigns and the Second Manassas campaign outside of Washington, D.C. in August had left this medical department in a state of chaos, confusion, and wholly unprepared to meet the medical needs of such another large scale engagement as Antietam. Anna and her husband William immediately left for the Antietam battlefield in response to the distressing scenes he had painted for her.

The Holstein’s served for months around the Antietam battlefield, caring for the sick and wounded. Their role as post-battle caretakers continued just a month after the battle of Gettysburg when the large army field hospital of Camp Letterman opened just east of the borough on the York Road. This time, however, Anna was already numbed to the scenes of shattered limbs and the despondently ill wearied from disease. By this time her husband had secured a position with the U.S. Sanitary Commission which also setup at Gettysburg to aid the wounded and sick in the wake of the battle. That agency, along with the U.S. Christian Commission, offered supplies and personages to aid in the aftermath of not only Gettysburg, but other battles in the final years of the war.

Anna’s role for caring for those soldiers left behind by both armies was significant. She was made matron-in-chief of Camp Letterman by Dr. Cyrus Nathaniel Chamberlain, which, under her and Chamberlain’s care, attended to over 3,000 wounded soldiers. Anna continued to work at Camp Letterman until it closed on November 19, 1863. Later that day, both her and her husband sat on the platform near Abraham Lincoln while he delivered the Gettysburg Address. Following her work at Gettysburg, Anna continued to nurse the sick and wounded back to health. By the end of the Civil War in 1865 and into 1866, she worked as a matron in a hospital in Annapolis, Maryland, caring for returned prisoners of war that were sick or wounded.

In the post Civil War years, Anna turned to the preservation of the places and material culture from America’s first war for independence. She was no stranger to the importance of this era and the necessity of keeping the memory of those that served during that turbulent era alive for future generations. Anna’s great-grandfather was Capt. Samuel Morris. Morris was the captain of the First City Troop of Philadelphia when it served as George Washington’s body guard. Captain Morris was with Washington during the Ten Crucial Days and was on the field him at the battles of Trenton and Princeton. Morris even earned the sobriquet as leader of the “fighting Quakers.” Anna’s grandfather, Richard Wells, also served the American cause. He was commissioned to provision the U.S. fleet on the Delaware River during the revolutionary war.

One of her first missions was to save and restore George Washington’s Virginia estate, Mount Vernon. The home had fallen into significant disrepair, with the recent war years only aiding to its material decay. Both Anna and her husband, who also had strong ancestral ties to the War for Independence, were among the first to promote the struggles at Mount Vernon, the necessity for saving it, and the fundraising to back those plans. It was her skills in fundraising so successfully for Mount Vernon that led her to be named as regent for the Valley Forge Centennial and Memorial Association. Anna also was one of the founders, and also named regent as well, of the Valley Forge Chapter of the D.A.R.

By 1878, The Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge, was incorporated in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Once incorporated, she led the charge as regent to save, acquire, restore and preserve General Washington’s Valley Forge Headquarters and surrounding acreage as parcels became available. Much needed funds for this charge would be needed, however. On June 19, 1878, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Continental Army marching out of Valley Forge, the Association held a large, organized event. With the funds generated from the anniversary commemoration, the Association was able to not only purchase General Washington’s Headquarters, but also additional acreage around the farm complex. They were also able to purchase original artifacts to place in the home, begin renovations to restore the home back to its 1777-78 appearance, and plant a tree from Washington’s Mt. Vernon on the property.

By 1893, when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania assumed control of the camp sites and headquarters at Valley Forge, with Anna credited as the person “to whom the Nation is indebted more than any other” for her tireless efforts to ensure this national shrine was preserved and protected in perpetuity. Decades later, the National Park Service would assume ownership and operational leadership of the park from the state of Pennsylvania.

Anna and William’s home still stands in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania today at 211 Henderson Road. In 2021 the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission placed a marker at the entrance drive to the home. Anna’s work at saving material culture from the Revolutionary War and ensuring the legacy of the veterans of that conflict lived on was vast. Hopefully this small summation of her activities inspires others to dig deeper into her efforts.

Now At Rest

On September 19, 2024September 17, 2024 By Mark WilcoxIn Armies, Arms & Armaments, Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Campaigns, Civilian, Common Soldier, Memory, Monuments, Preservation, Revolutionary War, Southern Theater, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Not long ago, a good friend of mine found himself in Henry County, Va. Located southwest of Richmond, the county was named for the patriot, Patrick Henry, in 1777. Touring a local cemetery there, my friend came upon a very interesting headstone. It was the grave marker for a soldier of the American Revolution; a man named Thomas Pearson.

According to the headstone, Thomas Pearson had served in the Virginia Continental Line and in May 1780, was wounded in battle against the British in South Carolina. My friend sent me a photograph of the headstone. Based on the place and date, he was hoping this Thomas Pearson had perhaps served at the battle of Camden. As a co-author of a book on Camden, I have to admit that I was quite intrigued myself.

But, based on my research for the book, I knew immediately that certain pieces of information on the man’s epitaph didn’t correspond to details of the Camden fight. First off, it indicates that Thomas Pearson served in the Virginia Continental Line. The Virginians engaged at Camden were actually not part of the Continental Line but, rather, state militia forces commanded by Gen. Edward Stevens. In fact, most of the troops of the Virginia Continental Line were captured by the British at the fall of Charleston on May 12, 1780.

The epitaph also reads that Pearson was wounded in May 1780, in South Carolina. The battle of Camden occurred later, on August 16, so most likely this gentleman wasn’t there. Still, the gravestone intrigued me. I decided to do a little research into Thomas Pearson and sadly, I was to discover that his story was a tragic one.

On November 30, 1812, at the age of 61, Thomas Pearson applied for a pension for his services in the Revolutionary War from the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to his application, he was “a soldier in the revolutionary war, belonging to the VA Line on continental establishment, and attached to the regiment commanded by Col. Abraham Buford.” Clearly, he was a veteran of the southern campaign.

In May 1780, he was indeed serving in the Virginia Continental Line, as an officer of the 3^rd Virginia Detachment of Scott’s Virginia Brigade. Commanded by Col. Abraham Buford of Culpepper County, VA, the 3^rd Detachment, nearly 400 strong, was marching into South Carolina to the relief of the City of Charleston, which was under siege by the British. The city fell before Buford’s column could reach it, however. Afterwards, Buford received orders from Brig. Gen. Isaac Huger to fall back to Hillsborough, NC. In Charleston, British Lt. Gen. Charles, Earl Cornwallis, who would soon assume command of all British forces in the south, learned of the existence of these Patriot reinforcements. On May 27, he sent troops in pursuit. They were mounted troops of the British Legion, mostly loyalists under the command of the infamous Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton. Throughout the southern campaign, the 26-year-old Tarleton would establish for himself a reputation for cruelty and blood lust that was unsurpassed. Some of the acts attributed to him during this period were true and some were not, but his dubious reputation would become cemented in the minds of many Americans during this episode.

Tarleton set out in pursuit of Abraham Buford’s troops on May 27, leading around 300 of his Legion dragoons, some mounted infantry, and a detachment of the 17^th Light Dragoons. Having a reputation for driving his forces unmercifully, Tarleton’s troops were able to quickly catch up, and closed in on Buford’s Virginians on May 29, on the border of North and South Carolina. It was farming country here, known as the Waxhaws.

When the two forces were still some miles apart, Tarleton issued a call for surrender, under a white flag of truce. In his message he wrote: “Resistance being vain, to prevent the effusion of human blood, I make offers which can never be repeated.” After conferring with his officers, Col. Buford made the decision to refuse Tarleton’s offer. He replied: “I reject your proposals, and shall defend myself to the last extremity.” The Patriot force then continued its march north towards Hillsborough, with Tarleton’s troopers continuing the pursuit.

By mid-afternoon of the 29th, Tarleton’s lead elements caught up with Buford’s column, attacking and destroying the small rear guard. Commanding that rear guard was Lieut. Thomas Pearson. Witnesses said that Pearson was sabered and knocked from his horse. While he lay on the ground, he continued to receive wounds; his face was mangled and there were cuts across his nose, lips, and tongue. Col. Buford halted his column, deploying his infantry in a single line across an open field, east of the Rocky River Road. He then issued a questionable order: his men were told to hold their fire until the dragoons were almost on top of them and then unleash a volley at point-blank range. When the charge came, the Virginians followed orders; they held their fire until the British were about 10 yards away. While their one volley did manage to empty a few enemy saddles, it wasn’t nearly enough and now the Virginians had no time to re-load their muskets. In a flash, Tarleton’s troopers were in among the Continentals, hacking men down with their sabers, wholesale.

Quickly realizing the battle was lost, Buford sent forward a white flag of surrender. About this time, Tarleton’s horse was killed, going down and momentarily trapping its rider. Some of his nearby troops became enraged, believing the Patriots were not honoring their own white flag. These troops are said to have continued sabering Patriot soldiers as they tried to surrender. Abraham Buford and some of his troops did manage to escape the field but his command was destroyed. Continental casualties totaled around 113 killed, 147 wounded, and 50 captured. Two Patriot 6-pounder artillery pieces and 26 baggage wagons were likewise captured. Compared to this, Tarleton’s losses were negligible. The battle would long be remembered as “Buford’s Massacre” and many of the Patriot dead lie today in a mass grave at the battlefield site.

**Mass Grave at the Waxhaws battle site**

Banastre Tarleton’s reputation for cruelty was established at the Waxhaws. Nicknames like “Bloody Ban” and “Bloody Tarleton” began to be used to describe him and the phrase “Tarleton’s Quarter” would become a Patriot battle cry.

Even though severely wounded in this action, Lieut. Thomas Pearson managed to survive his injuries, living until 1835. He was 84 when he died; his last years were hard on him. According to his pension application, he “received sundry wounds in his head and arms, which have rendered him, in his present advanced stage of life, incapable of maintaining himself by labour (sic).” On January 12, 1813, the Commonwealth of Virginia granted Pearson’s request for relief. He received an immediate payment of $50, with an annual pension payment of $60.

Today, this Revolutionary War veteran lies at rest in a quiet cemetery in Henry County, VA.

**The Waxhaws Battlefield Site, in Lancaster, SC**

“God be with you gentlemen”: To Philadelphia!

On August 31, 2024August 30, 2024 By Mark MaloyIn Uncategorized1 Comment

On August 30, 1774, two Virginians arrived by carriage at George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon. It was Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton. Henry and Pendleton planned to spend the night at Mount Vernon and on the morning of August 31, 1774 they would depart with Washington to go to Philadelphia and attend the First Continental Congress. These three Virginians would be joined in Philadelphia by Richard Henry Lee, Peyton Randolph, Benjamin Harrison, and Richard Bland to form the Virginia delegation at the congress. This was the first time delegates from twelve of the American colonies met in the lead up to the Revolutionary War.

The west front of the mansion at Mount Vernon. From the doorway here, Martha Washington bid farewell to her husband on August 31, 1774. (Wikimedia)

They had no idea what this congress would lead to. For the first time, men from colonies as far north as New Hampshire and far south as South Carolina would be meeting. The disparate colonies were coming together in response to the British Parliament’s harsh measures levied earlier that year.

As the three Virginians left Mount Vernon on August 31, Edmund Pendleton remembered how Martha Washington bid them goodbye. She had no idea that the events that would follow would result in her husband being gone from Mount Vernon for nearly eight years.

Pendleton wrote: “I was most pleased with Mrs. Washington and her spirit. She seemed ready to make any sacrifice and was cheerful though I knew she felt anxious. She talked like a Spartan mother to her son going to battle. ‘I hope you will stand firm – I know George will,’ she said. The dear little woman was busy from morning to night in domestic duties, but she gave us much time in conversation and affording us entertainment. When we set off in the morning, she stood in the door and cheered us with the good words, ‘God be with you gentlemen.’”

Make sure to follow Emerging Revolutionary War on Facebook as we attend events to mark the 250^th anniversary of the First Continental Congress next weekend in Philadelphia. We will be doing videos throughout the weekend and will post them later to our YouTube channel.

“War! war! war! was the cry” The 250th Anniversary of the Powder Alarm

On August 30, 2024August 19, 2024 By Rob OrrisonIn 1774, Battlefields & Historic Places, Boston Tea Party, British Leadership, Civilian, Common Soldier, Continental Congress, Continental Leadership, First Continental Congress, Memory, Militia (Patriot) Leadership, Monuments, Preservation, Uncategorized1 Comment

On September 1, 1774 Massachusetts was on the brink of war. General Thomas Gage, now Governor of Massachusetts was growing more worried about Whig access to gunpowder and weapons. He made a fateful decision to send a small expedition to retrieve the provincial powder stored in Charlestown. This powder in Gages’ mind, was owned by the King. Local leaders felt otherwise and now this grab for powder by Gage nearly sparked war in 1774.

As word of the Boston Tea Party reached the other colonies, the response was mixed. Most colonists believed Bostonians should pay for the ruined tea, but they were also overwhelmingly shocked by the harshness of the Coercive Acts. Support from across the 13 colonies began to pour into Boston. Using an already established “Committee of Correspondence” network created in the early 1770s, colonial leaders began to discuss a proper reaction. Boycotts on imports of British goods and tea especially were accepted broadly. But most importantly, 12 colonies (Georgia abstained) sent representatives to a “Continental Congress” in Philadelphia in September 1774. Unlike the previous Stamp Act Congress, the First Continental Congress was attended by the majority of American colonies. The Congress encouraged boycotts and also petitioned the King and Parliament to rescind the Coercive Acts. In response to their planned attendance, Governor Gage dissolved the Massachusetts Provincial Assembly before the Continental Congress met and called for new elections. This did not deter them from sending representatives (John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Cushing, and Robert Treat Paine) to Philadelphia.

Charlestown (now Somerville) Powder House, ca. 1935

Back in Massachusetts, Gage became wearier of his situation and the possibility of open conflict with colonists. He was active in paying informants and gaining information from local Tories (those loyal to the British government). These sources informed Gage that the people of the countryside were beginning to arm themselves. In an effort to deny them use of the official Royal arms and powder stored across the colony, he began to collect these government-owned supplies. In colonial America, most men served in the local militia. Local towns had powder magazines to store the powder that would be used for training the militia or if the militia was called to defend a portion of the colony. Many of these powder magazines also stored a portion of gunpowder that belonged to the colonial government—the King’s powder.

One such large powder magazine that stored a large quantity of British gunpowder was in nearby Charlestown, now known as Somerville. This powder magazine was the largest in the colony. William Brattle, the commander of the Middlesex County militia and a Royal appointee, notified Gage that he believed the local militia were making plans to steal the Royal gunpowder. Gage moved quickly; he ordered the Middlesex County sheriff to secure the keys. Then early on the morning of September 1, nearly 300 British Regulars made their way to the powder house and removed all of the gunpowder that rightfully belonged to the governor and his agents. By that afternoon, the British troops, powder, and two cannon were in Boston at Castle William (a fort on an island in Boston Harbor).

Word spread quickly that the British came and stole the powder and, in the process, had shot and killed colonials. Now Boston was on fire, and the British navy was bombarding the city. All of this of course was not true, but the word spread like wildfire just the same. Misinformation abounded, and now thousands of locals and militia were gathering in Cambridge looking for revenge. Many loyal to the colonial government were forced to flee to Boston for protection. As time went on, it was evident that the rumors of a battle and Boston burning were untrue. The incident, however, showed how quickly the countryside could mobilize against the governor. Word was quickly sent to Philadelphia where the delegates to the First Continental Congress was aghast at the news. They debated on what to do, and the Massachusetts delegation specifically were on edge for more information. Word eventually arrived that the situation that was first reported was not accurate and no fighting had broken out. John Adams wrote;

Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia where the First Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774.

“When the horrid news was brought here of the bombardment of Boston, which made us completely miserable for two days, we saw proofs of both the sympathy and the resolution of the continent. War! war! war! was the cry, and it was pronounced in a tone which would have done honor to the oratory of a Briton or a Roman. If it had proved true, you would have heard the thunder of an American Congress.”

Gage, somewhat shaken by the event, began to concentrate his military strength in the city of Boston and fortified the city against a possible attack. He sent word to England that he needed more men to enforce the Coercive Acts. The “Powder Alarm” proved that, within a day, thousands of armed colonials could assemble. The message he sent London shocked the King: “If you think ten thousand men sufficient, send twenty; if one million is thought enough, give two.” Soon after on September 9th, Whig (Patriot) leaders such as Dr. Joseph Warren and others passed the Suffolk Resolves. These strongly worded resolves called for a boycott of British goods and heavily impacted policies adopted by the First Continental Congress. Parliament badly miscalculated the colonial reaction to the Coercive Acts and the pendulum was beginning to swing to independence. The Powder Alarm quickly taught General Gage that the resistance to Royal authority was not just a small group of rebels, but a growing majority of the population.

You can still today visit the the famous Powder House today. It stands in Nathan Tufts Park at 850 Broadway, Somerville, Massachusetts (GPS: N 42.400675, W 71.116998). There is plenty of street parking available. Take the trails in the park to the Powder House located in the center of the park.

Emerging Revolutionary War Era

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